Celebrate World Toilet Day

Each year thousands of people join in on promoting World Toilet Day via social media campaigns, online petitions, and by getting involved in a range of events held in different countries worldwide.

Public life

World Toilet Day is a global observance and not a public holiday.

About World Toilet Day

The provision of proper toilets could save the lives of more than 200,000 children in the world, according to the UN. The countries where open defecation is most widely practiced are the same countries with the highest numbers of under-five child deaths, high levels of under-nutrition and poverty, and large wealth disparities. Moreover, over one billion people defecate in the open due to lack of proper toilet facilities.

International organizations, particularly the World Toilet Organization, have promoted World Toilet Day for years. In 2013, the UN officially recognized November 19 as World Toilet Day in a bid to make sanitation for all a global development priority. It deemed the practice of open-air defecation as “extremely harmful” to public health.

Did you know?

More people in the world have a mobile phone than a toilet. Of the world’s seven billion people, six billion have mobile phones. However, only 4.5 billion have access to toilets or latrines – meaning that 2.5 billion people, mostly in rural areas, do not have proper sanitation.

World Toilet Day Observances

Select another year-range:

Weekday

Date

Year

Name

Holiday type

Where it is observed

Tue

Nov 19

2013

World Toilet Day

United Nations observance

Wed

Nov 19

2014

World Toilet Day

United Nations observance

Thu

Nov 19

2015

World Toilet Day

United Nations observance

Sat

Nov 19

2016

World Toilet Day

United Nations observance

Sun

Nov 19

2017

World Toilet Day

United Nations observance

Mon

Nov 19

2018

World Toilet Day

United Nations observance

Tue

Nov 19

2019

World Toilet Day

United Nations observance

Thu

Nov 19

2020

World Toilet Day

United Nations observance

Quick Facts

World Toilet Day aims to promote public awareness of the need for adequate toilets to improve people’s health and save lives.